PGW bidders narrowed down from 30

Thirty companies have offered to purchase the Philadelphia Gas Works, the city announced today, but it won't say which were asked to submit final bids.

Philadelphia Gas Works headquarters. Credit: Rikard Larma/METRO

Thirty companies have offered to purchase the Philadelphia Gas Works, the city announced today, but it won't say which were asked to submit final bids.

“The number and strength of the indicative bids we received earlier this month were equally encouraging," Nutter said in a news release. "Now, working with our brokers and financial advisers, we have selected and notified those companies still in contention to attempt to reach an agreement to purchase PGW."

The utility is expected to sell for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, which would bring a net profit of between $422 million and $872 million. The money would likely be earmarked for the city's pension fund.

Final bids are due in January, and the sale is expected to be final in February.

While Mayor Michael Nutter would choose the winning bid, City Council and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission would have to sign off on the deal.

Nutter has faced opposition from unions who fear the privatization of the country's largest gas utility, but Nutter has reinforced his stance that the sale is best for the city's future financial health.